


Astray Blossoms

by plantteaful



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blackwatch, M/M, mission
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-29 14:36:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12633093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plantteaful/pseuds/plantteaful
Summary: Missions can lead to failure. The extent of the failure and effects they cause are heightened by the events that come after.





	1. Chapter 1

_"--Copy? Anyone?"_

 

The air was immensely thick as clouds of black smoke dispersed through the old market place. Only moments ago was it calm and undisturbed with a dozen families and children running around. It was supposed to stay that way. The outcome that was playing out now was the exact one they were ordered to prevent. Every inch of what was now a destroyed marketplace was filled with cries and screams of the distressed.

 

Jesse lied beneath a pile of debris that used to be an old wooden stand that sold fruit. He coughed and spluttered as he attempted to crawl out from the blackened scraps, grimacing at the intense pain coursing through him. Warm crimson soaked his side as he felt himself leave a grotesque trail behind him wherever he moved. His right hand clutched at his side, trying to put pressure on one of the wounds that were shot onto his body. In his ear, he could hear Reyes shouting and demanding a response to anyone on their team. Jesse opened his mouth to report back but was cut off with a choking cough.

 

_"McCree, is everything alright?  Where is your location? McCree? Jesse!"_

 

On a separate line, Jesse could hear Genji reporting back. From the sounds of it, he was on the outskirts of the chaos since the screams were fairly distant and he sounded fine despite his tone of worry. He, too, was calling out for Jesse, however being more aggressive in getting a response back than Reyes. Figured. It always was Genji losing composure in a potentially dangerous situation. Especially, if it meant the life or death result of a fellow teammate.

 

Jesse chuckled hoarsely to himself at the thought--life or death. Was he going to die here? Here, with who knows how many bullets in him, dragging himself along some old as dirt cobblestones who knows where in Japan? He thought about how many other times he thought about his life or death situation, the only difference between now and then being the situation and location. Often times he thought it would be out back behind a rusty car in the desert. That would be the most popular guess. Not ever would he guess it be in a goddamn marketplace in Japan.

 

From what seemed like hours (which, in reality, was only a few minutes), Jesse managed to drag himself off to an isolated area away from the discourse. He tried propping himself up against a stone bench but failed miserably as he felt himself make hard contact to the stones below him. Biting his tongue from making any distressed sound, he steadied himself to respond back.

 

"Reportin'."  
  


Jesse managed to emit weakly from his lips, truly unsure whether or not he even spoke it clearly or if it was just a wispy breath. Whatever it was, Reyes heard it and answered back almost immediately.

 

_"McCree, where are you?"_

 

"Market."

 

He winced sharply as he made an attempt to shift his body upwards, the creeping tiredness grabbing at his senses setting a weak wave of panic throughout him. This wasn't how it was supposed to turn out. The mission was plain and simple: terminate the existing Shimada clan and put an end to their work. It was an important mission and should've been cleanly disposed of since they had an ex-member who knew all about their intel. It wasn't supposed to turn out this way.

 

 _"We're sending people your way. Don't move."_ Reyes responded.

 

"Don't look like I could if I tried." Jesse chuckled, immediately regretting it as a sharp pain tore at his side.

 

The pool of deep scarlet around him seemed to grow evermore. Where he lied, he could feel it creep over the cobblestones under his head, matting his brown locks together. It soaked his clothes, causing them to uncomfortably stick against his paling skin.

 

He didn't know how long he was lying there, barely staying conscious. It felt like hours but could have possibly been only a few minutes. There was no report in from Reyes confirming they were close by nor was their any sight or sound of his heavy footsteps or Genji's metallic body.

 

As he weakly tried to focus on these thoughts to keep him awake, Jesse could barely make out a pair of footsteps coming closer to him. They didn't belong to anyone in Blackwatch. No, if they were, they would be fast footsteps with frantic yelling. These were... quiet, cautious. Forcing his eyes open a little more, he saw the blurry outline of what looked like a man. There was a hood over his head,  denying any sort of facial identification. In his hand was an arrow, the silver tip glinting dangerously.

 

"Identify yourself." A low voice met Jesse's ears. His forehead creased in pain as he strained to comprehend what was being said. The volume of the other person's voice was going up and down in volume like a toddler playing around a television remote.

 

Jesse let his head tilt to the side, eyes half lidded as they watched the person crouch right in front of them. "I'm what yer lookin' at. That's who I am." It was a struggle to even muster those words above a whisper.

 

The man shoved the arrow against Jesse's cheek. "Who sent you?"

 

Simply staring, Jesse let out a shaky breath, "You ain't.... a foe. I got no business... with you." He cracked a playful grin, basking in seeing the other's grip tighten in frustration. It was hard to come off as intimidating to Jesse. Hell, he'd seen practically every move pulled on him to the point where he could be hanging by his ankles over a pit of knives and lava and he'd be spewing witty remarks till his last breath. A measly arrow and hooded figure was child's play.

 

Slowly, everything began to swirl around him. Jesse could feel the man grab at his collar, jerking him up. Wincing softly, he let his eyes close out of exhaustion and anticipation for either the arrow to be shoved into his heart or into his head. However, none of that came for him. Instead, he felt himself being lifted up onto someone's shoulder and being hauled off from where he was.

 

"Where... taking me?" Jesse drawled, not even knowing if those words actually emitted from his mouth. Within seconds of being carried, Jesse felt himself drown in a deep darkness, the last thing he could remember were staring at the untainted bow across the archer's back. There was a symbol of two dragons gleaming from it, prodding familiarity in Jesse's mind as he drifted off into unconsciousness.

 

...

 

_"Jesse? Come in, Jesse?!"_

 


	2. Archer

Everything was still. Ever so slowly, Jesse began to regain consciousness. At first, he thought he was dead. The sound of a soft melody from distant chimes brushed past his ears as he felt a soft breeze kiss his face. Through his closed eyelids, he saw bright light. On a whim, he made the assumption that he was dead and was now at the gates of heaven. However, that guess was quickly shot down. Him? Jesse McCree being presented at the gates of heaven? It amused him. There was no way his filthy hands and guilt ridden heart could ever make a presence past purgatory and up. If anything, he'd be damned to hell.

Cracking his eyes open, Jesse was immediately blinded by a bright light. The sound of street chatter met his ears, muffled by either distance or walls. Squinting, he could now see that the blinding light was from a window to his left. It was open and, just barely, he could see pale pink flowers swaying in the wind. Only now did he realize he was lying down on the floor. Cautiously, he moved his head to the other side, eyes going over a bowl of water and roll of bandages. The water was tainted a faint red which mimicked the blotches of red on a rag set right beside the bowl. Where was he? Was this a hospital? No... a hospital wouldn't be this bare. And, this certainly was not headquarters.

An alarmed realization sparked through Jesse. Where was Reyes? Genji? He was ordered to stay put in the market while backup came to get him. He didn't stay there... but how? Where was he now? How did he even get here? Memories of the past night were a blur, a fuzzy image just teasing to be revealed. He picked and prodded at everything he could possibly recall from before he lost consciousness but could remember nothing. He was wounded in the market place and stayed beside a bench... He waited for Reyes but then...

Absentmindedly, Jesse's eyes wandered around the rest of the room before locking onto a very familiar object that triggered every detail to last night he had forgotten. Against the far corner wall of the room, a well crafted bow rested, its arrows neatly placed beside it. A golden symbol of two dragons entwined shined from sun through the window... That man. That hooded man carried him off somewhere.

Shit.

Jesse quickly attempted to push himself up in a sitting position but instantly regretted it. A sharp pain coursed through his torso, causing him to fall back down onto the futon. Shit. This wasn't good. He needed to report back to Reyes. He needed to know where they were. He needed to--

Suddenly, the sliding door (the wall that divided the rooms) opened, startling Jesse. In stepped a young man not too older than Jesse. Obsidian black hair was tied back beside one loose strand that caressed the man's cheek. The man's hair appeared to be unevenly and messily cut, which was evident in the random tufts that poked out from where it was tied. Jesse met the man's narrowed eyes, uncomfortable with how he could not read him. He noticed that the stranger wore the same cloak as last night, the only difference being that he could now see his face.

"Who are you? Why am I here?" Jesse cut to the point, not giving a damn for dramatic silences and entrances.

Unfazed by the southern's aggressive questions, the man merely walked towards his bow and arrows, picked them up, then turned to face Jesse once again. As he came closer, Jesse noticed that the stranger had a familiar look to him. Something about him gave off the sense as if he'd seen his face before... somewhere...

The stranger knelt down, taking the bowl of water and rag into his hands. "I will enclose to you who I am once you've done so to me." Jesse glared, the man continued. "Seeing as how I saved your life, your simple repayment of telling me who you are should suffice. It would be impolite if you refused." He paused before adding, "I know you're a part of Blackwatch--the cause of the mass explosion in the market last night."

"Aren't you smart." Jesse retorted, watching the man dip the rag in water before ringing it in his hands. The sleeves of his coat slid up slightly, briefly revealing a secluded blue tattoo. Strange. That poked familiarity once more into Jesse as he continued to simply stare at the man. The overall physical appearance and mannerism he had was all too... known. With creeping curiosity, Jesse decided to go with what the other compromised. "The name's Jesse. Jesse McCree. Care to grace my ears with your name, friend?" He spoke the last word with sheer mock to an overly kind tone. Like he said, manners were not his thing.  

The archer moved over towards Jesse, looking down at the rag in his hand. A few strands of choppy black hair shrouded his eyes. "I am someone important to your well being. You and your men came to destroy my clan, which you mostly succeeded in. One foot out of this place, you will be killed in an instant. There are still members that are alive and upset with what you've done. And, they are aware that one of Blackwatch's men did not return to their base last night."

Jesse's insincere demeanor shifted at what was being said. A frown began to grow on his face as he tried pinning together what the other's objective what, still attempting to piece together the faults he couldn't understand. "You're a Shimada... I recognize your face, though I don't very much know your name." He quirked a cautious brow. "What's the catch? Why aren't you killing me?"

"I need something from you. And you can't get out of here without my help."

"What could I possibly help you with?"

"You're going to help me leave this place, just as I am going to help you. You will also discard any files you have of me back at your organization and erase all of my data."

The request made perplexed Jesse. Why would this man want to leave the Shimada clan, even more so, get off the grid so he could be untraceable? How was he associated with the clan? Jesse didn't judge him though, for he had his own history of sneaking into places and getting rid of files on him, practically making himself a ghost to the world. It was something he was forced to do while he was in the Deadlock gang. Whatever the case was for the archer, he could assume it was for some strong reason.

"I don't got much access to the data files back at headquarters... but I can try." Jesse responded sincerely, showing his compliance to the trade. It seemed fair enough. Besides, even he were to oppose, where would he go? He needed to get back to headquarters and report to Reyes. Hell, they probably thought he was dead. Working alongside the archer was the best option in this given scenario.

Luckily, his agreement to try with the data was sufficient enough for the stranger. "Good." He finished ringing out the towel and placed it beside the water bowl, now clean. "For now, you must rest. I have cleaned and bandaged your wounds from the night prior. Only time will heal them now, and I am a patient man. Once you are back on your feet efficiently, we will set out." And with that, the man stood up and began his way back towards the exit.

Jesse shifted a bit where he lied, now taking notice of the soft bandages that wrapped around his torso. He slowly began to realize more of what the other had done. On the side of the futon, his beloved hat was set neatly next to a pile of his clothing, all clean. There was a small cup of water on the other side of him placed on a square napkin. The confusion he held for the man before came rushing back. Why was he being cared for like so? He could understand that the archer needed him to recover in order to help him leave and get back to headquarters to fulfill the rest of his deed. However, all of this seemed rather... overly hospitable for someone like him.

Before the man left the room, Jesse quickly stopped him, "Hey, wait... archer. Care to at least tell me your name? I want to know who I'm dealin' with here. 'Sides, if I'm to erase your files and information, I'm gonna need a name."

The archer stopped where he was, keeping his back to Jesse. His fingers toyed at the cuffs of his coat, the prolonged silence putting a hesitant aura around him. Jesse continued staring at the man, eyes narrowing as he examined every little movement he was making. After what seemed like forever, the archer answered.

"My name is Hanzo." He turned to Jesse, an almost threatening facade looming over his once calm expression. Jesse felt his stomach twist uncomfortably, mastering in his ability to keep his shock unreadable. Hanzo added, "Get some rest. Do not make me regret not killing you when I could."

And with that, Jesse watched Hanzo disappear from the room as a newfound discomfort began to claw away at his chest.

Hanzo... Shimada.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deeply apologize for the wait and how horrible this chapter is. My computer crashed 4 times while writing this, erasing every progress I had. I basically had to rewrite this chapter 3 times and I always forgot what I put every time ugh.
> 
> Anyways, please enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> A drabble of an idea. I don't know if I should continue or not :-)
> 
> edit: I will continue this! I’m touched by everyone who found a liking for it!


End file.
